Title: Sugar, Spice and Everything Nice
Character(s): Kaoru, Hikaru, Ageha, Hitachiin parents, Kazuha, Tamaki, Haruhi (End of manga, no pairings apart from established)
Rating: G
Disclaimer: Ouran High School Host Club belongs to Hatori Bisco and related companies.
Word count: 3251
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SUGAR, SPICE, AND EVERYTHING NICE
Kaoru shoves his leg – clad in black skinny jeans – into a knee-high boot and zips himself in snugly.
"Hikaru!" he yells to the room at large.
"Coming!" Hikaru yells back from the bathroom.
As is their tradition, they are going on a shopping spree for their birthday. Kaoru slides his credit card into the breast pocket of his shirt and rubs a small amount of moisturiser into his hands as he waits.
Still fiddling with his hair, Hikaru emerges with a round brush and comes to an abrupt halt.
"Wow, Kaoru, you have amazing legs," he remarks with a hint of something salacious in his tone. "I could look at them all day; they make me wanna run my hands all over them."
Kaoru rolls his eyes, a grin tugging at his mouth. "We're identical, Hikaru."
"Thank you for the compliment." Hikaru bows exaggeratedly with a roguish wink that makes Kaoru snort rudely.
"Will you hurry up," Kaoru asks dryly. "To think you called me 'slowpoke' this morning."
"My hair won't behave!" Hikaru complains with a huff. Plaintively, he says, "Kaaaooooruuuuu…"
"There's moisturiser on my hands. Why didn't you ask for help earlier?" Despite his words, he marches into the bathroom to wash off the product before seizing the brush and hairdryer from his brother.
"I wanted to surprise you with the full ensemble," Hikaru says sadly, drooping onto the chair at the dresser.
"Hikaru," Kaoru tells him flirtatiously, "You'll always be super hot to me."
"We're identical, Kaoru."
"Thank you for the compliment," Kaoru acknowledges with a mischievous laugh.
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"You took so long and this was all you could come up with, Hikaru- and Kaoru-niichan?" Ageha gives them an unimpressed once-over.
"Hey!" they both protest in unison.
"We've been doing this for longer than you have, punk." Hikaru grabs their seven-year-old sister and gives her a noogie. "Besides, if you think the dress you're wearing matches those earrings, you are dead wrong."
She bites him.
With a yelp, Hikaru drops her. She lands on her feet with the same feline grace that the twins have always possessed and runs out of the lounge room to the atelier, where she leaps straight into the arms of their father and pours out her sob story.
"Oh, my babies!" Yuzuha lifts her head from her sketches to give the twins a big maternal hug and a fussy kiss each. "Happy birthday!"
"Happy birthday, boys," their father echoes with a smile. Ageha sticks out her tongue at them.
"Thanks," they chorus. "We're going shopping, see you for dinner!"
"Wait!" Yuzuha stops them before they've taken all of three steps. "Could you bring Ageha with you?"
The twins exchange a look.
"Sure!" they reply at the same time that Ageha says, "No!"
"Come on, child," their father says placatingly, "it wouldn't be so bad to go shopping with your elder brothers, would it?"
"Ageha-chan!" Kaoru chirps wheedlingly, "We'll buy new clothes for you!"
"It makes me cry to see niichans' choice in clothes!" she retorts, face buried in their father's neck.
"Grrr…" Hikaru growls.
"That's why you should go with them to correct their taste," their mother says blithely, comparing fabric swatches.
"Mother!" snaps Hikaru.
"Need we remind you that whatever we know of fashion, we learnt from you?" Kaoru adds sweetly.
"There, there," she soothes with the trademark Hitachiin grin. "Now, Ageha, go with your brothers. Have fun and don't be late for dinner!"
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Hikaru sighs, on the verge on surrender. "Ageha-chan, could you not make our lives hell, please? It's our birthday."
"You made my life hell on my birthday, Hikaru-niichan," she informs him, trying on a different headband.
Both twins scoff in disbelief. "Excuse us? We did not!"
"You did!" she asserts. "I hated my presents!"
"Well, we're sorry," Kaoru tells her, more than a bit stung.
Hikaru doesn't say anything, just wanders off to the belt section with a conspicuously blank expression. It would have been better if he'd shouted.
Kaoru swallows a sigh and gazes out of the window onto the streets. The truth is, he can hardly fault his younger sister's personality – he and Hikaru were no better than she is, doing whatever they liked and hurting people at will without regard to anyone or anything except for themselves. It's karma, then.
This is not the first time Kaoru has liked someone more than said someone has liked him back. The greatest irony in this situation is that Ageha's favoured person is the same person that Kaoru and Hikaru had lost Haruhi to. If there is some deity authoring their lives, this deity must be one fucked-up sadist who blatantly plays favouritism – how else to explain why no consideration has been given to the emotional repercussions of having the people who are important to them choose someone else? Is it meant to be funny? Because Kaoru sure isn't laughing.
How is it that, even though he classifies himself as a dreamer, he cannot escape the harshness of reality?
Kaoru already knows that perfection in one area of life is generally paid for by imperfection in another area. Their business is soaring like never before – the brothers' rise to the top of the fashion scene has been nothing short of meteoric and Kaoru's dream is to be able to show in the Paris Haute Couture week before he turns 30. He has been dealt a good hand in life, he is happy.
He has also had his heart broken twice before the end of high school, and he hasn't liked anyone – much less dated anyone – since Ageha was born.
Hikaru attempted to go out with a couple of people, too, and none worked out.
At 24-turning-25 years of age, they are exactly where Kaoru had imagined they would be. As a child in a two-person world, Kaoru had envisioned a future in which he would be running a company with Hikaru, a company that would be a breakout fashion hit, but that neither of them would have a significant other in their lives.
The more things change, the more they stay the same… and the absolute worst thing must be that this is how Kaoru had expected everything to be.
He can't decide if he is a self-fulfilling prophecy or a human being who cannot beat the odds.
Except the twins and Kyouya, the rest of the members of the ex-host club are married. The married ones all have kids, albeit infant children. It's mind-blowing and it makes him feel a little lost.
Just a little.
Ageha trots up to him. "I want these two."
"Yes, yes," Kaoru acquiesces easily, signalling to the store attendant. When Hikaru circles back with a belt and a pair of shoes, they pay for the lot and hop to the next boutique.
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Ageha insists on afternoon tea at the five-star Ramequin Pâtisserie Boulangerie, located off the main lobby of the Roi Grand Tokyo.
Her real wish is fulfilled when the two owners of the hotel come out of their offices to join them, having been alerted to their presence by their staff.
"Tono!" Ageha jumps out of her chair and runs to Tamaki upon catching sight of him through the glass doors. He carries her back to their table with Haruhi trailing behind calmly.
"Hey, Tono. Hello, Haruhi," Hikaru and Kaoru greet them together, accepting well-wishes and hugs from their friends. Haruhi smiles with a sincerity that still has the power to move Kaoru.
They chat.
Kaoru remembers laughing and contributing to the topics of conversation. He remembers enjoying himself and eating enough sweets to go on a sugar high.
Their friends promise to finish their work in good time to attend the dinner.
Without arousing their suspicions, Kaoru nods and holds his silence.
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At six in the evening, the servants inform Kaoru that a guest has arrived.
Wondering why any of their friends hadn't simply strolled in, Kaoru goes to meet this guest.
Oh.
Barely suppressing a smirk, Kaoru hunts down his brother, calling out his name in an annoying singsong manner.
"What?" Hikaru pokes his head out of the bathroom irritably.
"I'm glad you're freshening up," Kaoru says seriously, sitting down on his bed primly, "because there is a gorgeous woman in the grand hall with a gift for you."
He takes Hikaru by surprise, as he'd hoped – a close observation of Hikaru's reaction tells him everything he wants to know. Knowingly, Kaoru waves in the direction of the door, "Go, idiot."
With a scowl, Hikaru hurries his actions. "What the hell? I don't – Kaoru, it's not – don't get the wrong – "
"We can discuss this later," Kaoru says gently, hands on his brother's shoulders to steer him out.
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"I think I've got the right idea, thanks."
Kaoru smiles challengingly, stealing a cupcake and leaning against the kitchen counter to savour it.
"It's not right!" Hikaru shifts to one side for the chef to pass through.
With an arched eyebrow, Kaoru asks, "You don't like her?"
"She likes me!" Hikaru says defensively as if this response is an adequate denial of Kaoru's inquiry.
Noting all of the nuances, Kaoru sighs airily as he licks the icing off his fingers. "Even better. Ah, reciprocated love."
"Like I said, you're being stupid, Kaoru. I turned her down."
Kaoru drops the cupcake. "What! Why?"
"I told you, it's not what you think."
Staring hard at his twin, Kaoru understands everything in the blink of an eye. "Moron, it's precisely what I think. Listen: you cannot spend the rest of your life comparing each and every one of your girlfriends to Haruhi, get it? It's disrespectful to Haruhi and disrespectful to them."
Hikaru crosses his arms. "I'm not comparing her with Haruhi."
It sounds like the truth, which staggers Kaoru for a few moments. This time, he fully understands everything. "Oh, Hikaru."
"Don't do that." Hikaru looks away with a ferocious frown on his face.
Kaoru flings himself at his brother and fairly squishes the life out of him. "If this is the first woman that you aren't comparing with Haruhi, you should give her a proper chance. Don't push her away! I was with her for only about five minutes or so, but I'm getting good vibes from her, all right? Try and move on, my Hikaru. If you even dare to use me as a reason for not finding someone special for yourself, I won't ever forgive you."
"You don't have a right to tell me to move on," Hikaru says lowly, voice muffled by the embrace.
"I'm your twin; it's my divine right."
Hikaru grasps his upper arms firmly and peels them apart. "Do I have that right too? Can I tell you to move on? You – you are the idiot of idiots, Kaoru. Why don't you ever listen to me when I tell you not to be fucking noble, huh? You think I haven't noticed that you've become quieter and quieter over the past years? Ageha thinks of you as a reserved person, for fuck's sake, how crazy is that?!"
"Only because she's so noisy," Kaoru counters. "Besides, Hikaru, I can't always be the person I was at seventeen. It's abnormal in your mind, but this progression is natural. You've grown up too."
Hikaru flounders for words before pursing his lips in dissatisfaction as he reflects upon it.
At last, he concedes, "Okay, fine. If your quietness is a happy quiet, it's no problem. But it's not, is it? You're trapped in a dream; you're always drawing or reading or taking photographs or watching films, drifting from museum to bookstore and learning a dozen artsy things all by yourself like you don't exist in this world and it scares me, Kaoru."
"If you wanted to come along, you only needed to ask," Kaoru says. "Then you'd see that I'm okay. I'm just doing things that I love and finding inspiration for my designs."
"That's just it: I can't come along!" Hikaru cries, frustrated. "I can't find the dream you're in and it's more and more difficult for me to know what you're thinking about! Don't try to say that I'm paranoid or that it's just me – I talked to our friends and they think so too!"
Flatly, Kaoru says, "You talked to our friends. About me. Behind my back."
"I was worried – am worried. Kaoru, please," Hikaru begs.
"Have you been refusing to date because of me?" Kaoru demands with a sudden chill. "I was half-joking earlier, but have you honestly been staying single because you didn't want to leave me? You've proved me right, then, haven't you? I truly am a burden!"
Hikaru answers in the negative, and Kaoru senses the falsehood immediately.
"Liar," he says, closing his eyes and shaking his head. "Liar. Liar."
"I care about you!" Hikaru shouts.
"And I care about you!"
Their parents come through the door. "Why're you arguing on your birthday? Takashi-kun and Mitsukuni-kun are here."
"Mother, Daddy, Hikaru," Kaoru takes a deep breath and announces, "I'm leaving tonight. I hadn't wanted to – "
"Huh?! Are you mad?! Where're you going?!" Hikaru shakes him in concern.
"It's not a spur of the moment thing," Kaoru assures them, producing his flight ticket from his pocket. "I've been planning this for ages. I want to travel."
"Sweetie!" Yuzuha exclaims, taking the ticket to read the details printed on it. "What is this? What's going on?"
"My luggage is packed," he confesses. "I was going to tell you after the party – please don't mention anything to our friends during dinner. I won't shirk my responsibilities, Hikaru; I will continue to design on my trip and send the designs to you, although I'm sorry that you'll have to oversee the process of actualising the clothes yourself."
"The hell?!"
"Kaoru, you can't spring this on us without explaining yourself," their father says reasonably.
"I want to travel," Kaoru repeats. "I don't know where I'll go or when I'll come back, but I'll make sure to call often and send emails and postcards."
"You could take the Cessna – "
"No thanks, Mother. I want to go alone, please."
"No," Hikaru rejects his proposal, simmering with controlled rage. "No. Way."
"Daddy," Kaoru pleads.
"Dad, no. Don't let him go," Hikaru interrupts. "I don't know what's up with Kaoru and he hasn't been himself – I brought it up with you and Mother, I said I was frightened – you can't let him go."
Yasuhiro's eyes soften with compassion. "Actually, I've been wondering if you'd like a holiday, Kaoru."
"Dad! You can't! Stop them, Mother!"
"Hikaru," Kaoru says lovingly, reaching for his brother. "I want to go. Please? Is it so terrible? Come here, look at me – believe me. I will come back to you. Please let me go, please."
"Why?" Hikaru asks brokenly, starting to cry. "What do you need? Why can't I go with you? What did I do wrong?"
"Nothing," Kaoru replies tenderly, kissing him as tears of his own leak out. "This isn't about right and wrong, Hikaru. It's about how I've completely overestimated myself and how much I'd like to go exploring to relearn several things that I thought I knew."
"So why can't I go with you?"
"Because I'm holding you back, aren't I? What purpose would it serve to have you tag along with me – how is it helping you to do that? Go and chase after her, Hikaru. Prove to me that I benefit you more than I hinder you."
"That's not fair!" Hikaru protests at once. "You're not giving me a choice! You can't decide by yourself that your presence is a bad thing!"
"Have you or have you not refused someone because you were afraid I'd be alone?" Kaoru questions him bluntly.
"Kaoru, you – "
"Have you or have you not, Hikaru? Yes or no?"
"That's not the point!" Hikaru explodes.
"It is the point." Kaoru takes his ticket back from his mother. "Although I booked this flight before I knew about what you've been doing with your love life, the point is that I've been worrying you even though I tried to hide it – a part of me knew that you'd pick up on my discomfort anyway. This may seem weird to you, however it's really my way of telling you that I can do something for myself, that I won't sit around and brood helplessly, and this is why there is no reason for you to fear."
"Are you really doing this for yourself?" Hikaru asks with utmost solemnity. "Are you really, Kaoru? If you are, I agree to it."
"Yes, Hikaru. I promise."
Conflicted and pained, Hikaru lowers his gaze to the floor.
"Mother?" Kaoru turns to her. "Please?"
Her eyes are a bit watery. "An email or a text message every two days – I don't care if it's short or if it's just one sentence telling me that you're fine – and a call every week. Don't put yourself in dangerous situations and come home to us when you've had enough."
Kaoru nods. "I promise."
"Oh? You've inherited something from me after all, dummy, who knew?" Kazuha breezes in and pinches his cheek. "Caught the travel bug?"
Kaoru makes to swat her hand away – she's faster. "Shut up, Grandmother! Unlike you, I'm responsible!"
"We'll see how responsible you remain when you've tasted that unlimited freedom," she says, unimpressed. "Sun, sand, water, night, alcohol, clubs – and a mass of hormonal young people. You, my grandson, are attractive and beautiful because I am," – Kaoru blows an insulting raspberry at her – "and I don't think I need to tell you what sort of attention you will receive. Dummy, I warn you: uphold the family name on pain of death."
"Got it, Grandmother," Kaoru says obligingly. "I'll buy a motorbike and wear tight leather pants like you."
"You only hope your bottom is as shapely as mine," she sasses.
"Mother!" Yuzuha censures while the twins clap their hands over their ears, traumatised.
"So unbecoming of the family to hole up in the kitchen when there're guests," Kazuha tuts disapprovingly, gathering up her daughter and son-in-law as she sweeps out. "Just say yes, dum-dum, it's not like dummy is doing well here – he's feeling stifled, any fool can see that. Finish up quickly and go out to entertain your friends."
Kaoru cannot help but smile. For all her obnoxiousness, that old witch is really brilliant.
"Hikaru," he says tentatively, "it'll be a great experience, I think. In fact the advantage to me is probably more than the advantage to you. I – I just want to measure my own worth; I want to know I can step away from everything that gives me security. I'm sorry for being selfish."
"Don't!" Hikaru says sharply. "Don't. I've wanted you to do something selfish for at least 5 years now. If it's important to you, then I guess… You'll always remember I'm waiting for you, right?"
"Always," Kaoru vows. "I'm scared too, you know – of so, so many things: whether you'd – "
Hikaru places his fingers on Kaoru's lips. "When are you not afraid? I understand, okay? I'm saying yes because of this. Don't make me regret it."
"Hikaru…" Kaoru chokes back his tears. "I love you."
His brother crushes them together. "I love you too."
With a feeling of fullness hurting in his heart, Kaoru whispers, "Let's be lead characters in our own stories, Hikaru. Two stories, that way we'll each have a destined love interest and an awesome adventure without the other person having to lose out, ne?"
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– fin –
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Notes
(a) Breaking-out fic for the twins' birthday! Happy birthday, dear Kaoru and Hikaru!
(b) The title does indeed refer to Kaoru, despite the rhyme:
What are little boys made of?
What are little boys made of?
Slugs and snails
And puppy-dogs' tails,
That's what little boys are made of.
What are little girls made of?
What are little girls made of?
Sugar and spice
And everything nice,
That's what little girls are made of.
(c) So now on top of everything else, fic writers have got to jostle for attention using pictures. Omg. I am unconvinced about this new scheme, although it may have something to do with the fact that I can't draw to save my life. My poor fics, I'm afraid you'll have to stand on your own merits like Kaoru.
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09/06/2012